Rae told Lucas what she’d learned about Claxson’s rugs: “They’re okay, not great. Most of them made in India. The rug guy told me they look better than they actually are.”
They were still talking about the rugs, and the guns and the mirrors, and the antique boxes, and the two Japanese swords racked near the door, when, ten minutes later, Chase poked her head in the room, and said, “I worry about this, so... go easy as you can.”
Lucas nodded. “Sure.”
—
WHEN LUCAS, BOB, AND RAEwalked into the parlor, Oakes was seated on a beige, Italian-looking couch, knees tight together, elbows tight to the ribs, purse in her lap, held with both hands. She was frightened.
Rae dropped on the couch beside her, a few inches too close. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, reaching under her jacket and pulling out her Glock. She leaned across Oakes and, with noisy clatter,dropped it on the end table, its muzzle pointing toward Oakes. To Oakes she said, “Shit gets up my back, know what I’m sayin’?”
It wasn’t a real question, and Oakes didn’t answer. Lucas took a chair facing her, and Bob dragged over another chair, its legs scraping across the plank floor with a tooth-rattling screech, until he was also too close to her.
Lucas said, “Miz Oakes...”
Bob: “Jesus, Lucas, call her Helen—we’re all friends here. That is your name, right? Helen?”
Oakes nodded, flinching away from Bob.
Lucas said, “Okay, Helen. Look, we don’t want to frighten you, and you’re not required to tell us anything. We won’t arrest you at this point, but you are in serious jeopardy.”
“That’s the fucking truth,” Rae said. “He ain’t bullshitting you, babe... Excuse the language.”
“Everybody, shut up,” Lucas said. “I’m talking.”
“Yez, boss. I always do what white people tell me,” Rae said.
“Shut the fuck up, both of you, and let Helen talk,” Bob said.
Lucas continued. “Helen, your boss is going to prison for a very long time. Probably for a couple of decades or more, if we get him for these murders. I’ll be honest and tell you we aren’t all that interested in you. You’re small fry. We’re interested in Claxson and some of his military operators. If you stonewall us and we give up on you... we could easily throw you in the same bag. We know you must have had intimate knowledge of what was going on in there, since you’re so close to Claxson—”
“I was his PA!” Oakes wailed, opening her mouth for the first time. “I handled his schedule and travel reservations, but I didn’t do any of the business stuff.”
“Oh, horseshit,” Rae said.
Lucas snapped: “Rae, I don’t want to have to warn you again.”
“You ain’t warned me the first time, cracker,” Rae said. To Oakes she said, “I can tell you from personal experience, honey, that you don’t want to fuck with the FBI. Those coldhearted motherfuckers drop you in a hole without thinking about it twice, and not even remember you’re there after they throw you in. Claxson’s going down for thirty. You don’t want to be in that bag.”
“C’mon, Rae,” Bob said, “don’t be trying to scare her.” To Oakes he said, “Even if they put you in prison, well, federal prison, especially for women, isn’t that bad. You get three hots and a cot and good medical attention.”
“Not the only kinda attention she’d get,” Rae said, lifting her eyebrows. “Some of them rug munchers can get right up in your lap.”
“C’mon, Rae, goddamnit,” Bob said.
Lucas raised his voice. “Again, everybody shut up.” To Oakes: “Claxson’s computers are all encrypted. Do you know his private key?”
“No, I... I don’t. Nobody knows that but him. It’s long; I’ve seen him entering it on his computer, moving his lips when he’s doing it. It’s like he’s typing in whole words. And he’s not referring to anything—he’s got it memorized.”
“That’s bad,” Rae said. “Is everything in code?”
“Most everything,” Oakes said. “That’s why I don’t know anything... It all goes back and forth in code because it’s mostly classified. I know they ship armaments from one place to another, but all these details are in code. That’s not what I do.”
“You do his travel,” Lucas said. “Did you arrange his airplane flight to Omaha?”
She hesitated, then said, “I knew he was flying.”
“Do you know who was with him?”
